A review by blogginboutbooks
Beginners Welcome by Cindy Baldwin

4.0

This novel tells a tender story about grief - not just dealing with its immediate aftermath but also figuring out how to let go and move on after experiencing a traumatic loss. The emotions Annie Lee and her mother experience feel authentic. In addition to grief, Annie Lee is dealing with a lot of other things - maybe too many, as the subplots kind of seemed to take over the tale. It feels a little unfocused and, honestly, got a little dull for me in places. The characters are likable, though, and Queenie and Ray are especially warm. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the magical realism/ghost aspects of this novel since they seemed a little misplaced. While I liked this book well enough, I didn't end up loving it. I feel like there are a million MG grief novels out there that are similar to this one - I guess I wanted more originality. If I could, I'd give BEGINNERS WELCOME 3 1/2 stars; since I can't, I'm rounding up.